


A Death For The Family

by getclever



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Under the Red Hood
Genre: Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Joker Dies fic number 109830984, no editing i wrote this fic at like 4am.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-09
Updated: 2018-04-09
Packaged: 2019-04-20 15:12:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14263788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/getclever/pseuds/getclever
Summary: Red Hood's first meeting with Nightwing and Batman doesn't go as planned, at all.





	A Death For The Family

Freeze's armor wasn't as good as he thought. The bullets from the crate-guns ripped through him, and Black Mask's men followed him to the floor shortly after. He felt almost bad blowing Frie's head off. The man was more sympathetic than the rest of Batman's gang of freaks. But he was in the way just the same.

Red Hood smirked behind his mask, pressing the button to deactivate the guns. They slid back into their boxes-- and Batman slid out of the shadows, Nightwing jumping down from a rafter. Typical circus freak.

Red Hood catalouged his options. Bruce was limping a bit. Left ribcage. Must have been thrown around by Amazo. Dicks' knee brace was new. A weakness he could exploit.

Dick edged closer to him. Didn't seem to be limping, but the knee brace was an obvious weakness. Red Hood kept his stance low, ready to attack.

“We'll be taking that kryptonite off your hands.” Dick was up on the balls of his feet, ready to attack. Both daring the other to take the first move. It was almost like the few times that the two had sparred together. When Dick had less fashion sense and Jason had less hurt curled inside of him.

“You can have it. I got what I came for.”

Fine, Red Hood would move first. He swept low, aiming for Dick's bum knee. Dick caught his leg, flipping him upside down and slamming him into the concrete floor. To keep from hitting his head, Red Hood had to drop the trigger and catch himself. He rolled, jumping back upright.

Batman was here now, finished checking on Fries. He was dead, obviously. Not even freeze tech could heal an ounce of C4 straight to the skull.

This was falling apart fast. Red Hood was supposed to escape. Supposed to pull the trigger again for cover and escape. He and Bruce would meet later. He would take off the hood. Lead them to the empty house. Joker would be there.

Fine. If they wanted a fight, they would get one. Red Hood lunged for the trigger and Bruce's knee dug deep into his gut, then his elbow slamming into Red Hood's back and driving him back to the ground. Red Hood just laughed, half wondering if Bruce would be so brutal if he knew who he was up against. If his sentimentality would give Red Hood an edge or--

Nightwing and Batman both attacked him at once, working as a seamless unit. They kept aiming for his face. He had tested the hood for shock absorption. But both men attacking him so relentlessly, along with the drop on his head from Nightwing, caused alerts to flash into his HUD. Alerts about the wiring around the C4. It had been damaged and it was starting a countdown.

“Stop!” Red Hood, Jason, tapped Bruce on the shoulder. Bruce didn't even seem to notice his grip slacken. It was second nature, something that both boys knew to use during sparring. But Nightwing kept on and Jason finally held up a hand. “For fuck's sake, Dick, stop!”

Dick froze mid-punch. Started to ask what the hell was going on. But Jason didn't have time for this. Literally.

This was not how this was supposed to go. This was the exact opposite of how this was supposed to go. He almost wanted to cry, but there was no time for that. He was supposed to die. At least not yet. Not until he had his final showdown with Bruce. And this was not about to be how this final showdown happened.

“Bruce, there is a pound of C4 inside my helmet and if you don't let me go so I can toss the thing, we will all die right here.” He thought back to the explosion in Magdala, the vision of smoke and fire almost paralyzing him. No, had to fight through it. One minute left. At least he hadn't made the letters in his HUD _red_. Thank god he had put a warning system in if it didn't go off by the remote trigger.

Batman released him and Jason muttered a string of curses as he reached up to unlatch the helmet. “I'm going to take this fucking bomb off of my head and you guys are going to give me some space.”

He covered his eyes and threw a flashbomb. At least it would give him a few seconds before they figured out who he was.

Then they would go back to fighting, and he would lead them to the fairgrounds where he was hiding Joker. Nightwing there would be a problem. Would need to take him out first. But it could be done. He could pull this off. He could salvage the night.

He released the latches, pulling the helmet off and walking towards the docks. He saw Nightwing blinking furiously through the mask, rubbing his eyes. Batman was standing stock-still, obviously still processing everything. Even blinded, he must have figured it out.

He threw the helmet into the water. It exploded, spraying up water. It was cold on his face. Cold as his own mind as he reformulated his plans.

“No.” Dick's voice was first to speak, talking a step towards him. “I don't know what your game is, but this-- this isn't real.” He scrubbed at his face again. There was agony and guilt all over his face. Too emotional. The same things that Bruce always faulted him for, made him feel like were only Jason's problems. Too impulsive, too reckless, to emotional during battle. No, no. Dick had those same issues as well.

Bruce was still fucking silent. Jason's mouth twisted up into a snarl. “Nothing to say old man? I know you aren't much of a talker but I figured you would have _something_ to say.” He spread his hands, shifting his weight. He flexed his hands, hopping from one foot to another. “Well, let's get to it then.” He ran and lunged at Bruce, aiming for his neck.

Dick slammed into him, tears welling up and falling down his mask. “Jason. If it's really you. You need to stop. You need help. Whatever it is that's making you do this, you need to stop.”

Bruce still hadn't moved. Even when Jason had lunged at him. He finally spoke. “Why did you have C4 inside of your helmet. It's not safe.” His voice sounded empty, unsure of himself. The most emotion he had ever gotten from Bruce, really.

Jason laughed involuntarily. It sounded almost like the Joker. Made him feel sick. But he couldn't stop. “Your son comes back from the grave and kills eight people with plans to kill more and you're worried about my weapons safety?”

“You could have died.”

“Bruce, I already died. But this isn't about _that_. Believe it or not, I don't blame you for my death. That was my _mother's_ fault. _Joker's_ fault. Not yours.” He grabbed Dick's arm and bent it backwards, flipping their positions. Digging Dick's face into the concrete. “This is about me and you. And Joker. And the fact that he's still walking the fucking earth!”

Bruce finally broke through. He staggered back for a moment. “I tried. At least three times after you d-- after you died.”

“You must not have tried very hard. Because he's still here, and he wasn't hard to find.” Jason laughed again, and god it still made his stomach churn.

“Jason-- you didn't.” Bruce finally spoke again.

Dick halfheartedly added in, “I wouldn't hold it against you if you did, Little Wing.”

He grit his teeth, inhaling sharply. “I didn't. Not yet. I was planning. To make you decide. Kill me. Or kill Joker.”

Bruce finally walked forward, pulling Jason off of Dick. Tossing him onto the ground. There was anger flaring off of him and Jason reached for his gun. Bruce didn't flinch. “You thought I would make that choice? You thought I would kill you? After I only just found out you're alive again?”

“You had plenty of time to kill him, Bruce. And you never did!” Jason's hands were shaking. He was crying, staggering to his feet. Keeping the gun aimed at Bruce.

“I couldn't make that choice, Jason.”

Dick stepped forward carefully, between Jason and the gun. “What our dad, in his limited emotional vocabulary, is trying to tell you, Jason, is that it took Superman to stop him the first time, and Gordon to stop him the second. Bruce even gave Gordon the chance, the choice, to kill Joker. For Barbra, and for you.”

Jason lowered the gun. He swallowed, but his throat was swollen. It was taking everything not to audibly sob. Bruce had tried to avenge him. But it hadn't been enough. Joker was still here. Alive. Even when Jason had died.

“Bruce, I am begging you, as your son, to please put this son of a bitch below ground. He killed me. He took me away from you, from our family.”

Dick, in a stupid display of trust, took his eyes off the gun pointed at him and turned to Bruce. “He needs us. You have to do this. Please. You need your _**son**_ back, and I need my brother. Bruce, you have to stop being so black and white. There are grey areas. _You killed Anthony Zucco._ You can kill Joker.”

Bruce nodded. And Jason felt like all of his anger had been pulled out of him. He fell to his knees. He was sobbing. The gun fell to the ground and he wiped at his eyes. Dick threw himself on the ground and wrapped him in a hug. He pulled Bruce down as well. “It's going to be okay, Little Wing.” Bruce nodded, wrapping his arms around Jason as well.

“It's alright, Jay-lad. Jason. I—” He paused for a moment. Didn't want to say it. But Dick lifted his head for a moment and glared at him and Bruce took a deep breath. “I promise you, I will do _whatever_ it takes to make you feel safe again.”

And Jason sobbed again. Large, hiccuping breaths. It was like he was a child again, and god, he still was a child. He was only nineteen. Bruce wrapped his cape around all of them, a large black lump of vigilantes and murders, all holding each other and sobbing.

Finally, Jason stood up. “I need you to keep your promise Bruce.”

And Bruce grabbed Jason's shoulders, nodding. Both his sons needed this. He had killed Zucco to keep Dick safe, or at least to make sure that he felt safe. And Jason deserved the same. Batman dug up that fire, that anger that he had right after Jason died. He rolled his shoulders, the anger pouring off of him like a physical force. He had healed, had gotten better. Gotten over it, as much as one can get over a child's death. But it was still there, and he would need it for what he was about to do.

* * *

 

They walked down the fairground. Bruce was still convinced that Jason was leading them to a trap. No, no. This was his son. But he had also killed people. Probably more than he had mentioned earlier. Finally, they walked to the funhouse. The mirrors distorted everything. Bruce looked like a demon, stretched tall and thin. He glanced at his reflection and agreed with the distorted image. He was going to deal in death tonight. He was going to become a demon. But for the right reasons. Just one. Just one death. For his family.

Joker was singing to himself and Dick saw Jason's shoulders tense up. He looked like a soldier going in to war. All PTSD and hesitation. Not the Jason he had grown to know-- well, in the fleeting moments that they had spent time together. He would change that now. Hell, if Bruce did this, he would come home and live with them for a few months. Just to be a whole family again.

Jason hung back in the hallway, pointing to the entryway where Joker was held. Dick stood with him. Half keeping Jason from shooting Bruce in the back. Just in case it was a trap. But also because this was something that Jason probably needed help handling. Even if it ways a weight off of his chest. Being around the person who caused this kind of trauma ate at you. Dick had felt it every time he had to go to Zucco's hearing.

Jason handed Bruce a gun as he walked past. Bruce didn't want to take it. There had to be another way. But he had promised his son. And his son would come home. Be part of the family. He kept repeating that as his heartbeat filled his ears. For my son. For my son. For my son. For my son.

Joker laughed. “You'd never belive the day I had, Bats. Some guy wearing my get-up kidnapped me! What happened to him? Did you lock him up? Ah well, you here to take me back to Arkham? I missed my cell. It was better than this place.” Bruce lifted the gun and Joker blinked. “What's this about, Batman? You hit your head wrong or something?”

“You killed my son.”

Joker shook his head. “Ah, that was ages ago. Water under the bridge. You didn't kill me when you had your chance. I thought you were over it by now!” He laughed.

“It was a mistake, Joker. A mistake I'm going to correct.”

Jason, standing in the shadows, tensed. Dick placed a hand on his shoulder. Both boys held their breath.

The gun went off. The laughter stopped. There was a gurgling sound that took it's place. A clatter of metal as the gun hit the floor.

Bruce walked back out and pulled his cowl off. He looked mad, empty, emotionless again. But Jason was smiling. It was a grim, tight smile, but it was a smile just the same. Bruce returned the gesture. Coming from Bruce, it might as well have been an ear-to-ear grin. He was sure he would regret his actions later, in the night, when he was thinking back on everything that had happened the past two hours. But for now, his son was alive. Both his sons were safe. It was all he could and would ever want.

Despite the desperate and chest-crushing hug that Bruce yanked him into, for the first time since his death Jason could breathe again.

 

**Author's Note:**

> talk to me on tumblr @ getclever.tumblr.com


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